Ixtren Wallonis
Ixtren Wallonis was a notorious pirate born before the Clone Wars. He took naturally to the life of pirating at a young age and was active during the Clone Wars, The Empire Era, The New Republic Era, and during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Through his long career he had built up a private fleet of pirate vessels captained by his various lieutenants. It was during the Yuuzhan Vong War that he gained his fame by siding with the New Republic and commiting his forces against the extragalactic threat. History Concord Dawn (~100 BBY - 86 ABY) Ixtren was born on the Mandalorian world of Concord Dawn to a family of simple farmers. Unlike many of his childhood friends, Ixtren was not raised as a Mandalorian, though beliefs and values did affect him. He was educated in a small school and in his free time was taught the ways of farming by his father. However the bland agricultural life did not suit Ixtren and at the age of fourteen, he snuck onto a freighter and left the planet behind, never once looking back. Early Years (84 BBY- 22 BBY) During his teenage years, Ixtren managed to learn the trade of the space freighters. He served on various crews and earned a hard living in exchange for seeing numerous worlds. Though he was young, he worked hard, and no one every questioned his age. Yet this hard earned peaceful life did not last long as one of the ships he was on was attacked by pirates. Upon seeing the boy, the pirates took pity and spared him. The pirate captain took a special interest to him and raised him as his protege. Thus Ixtren came to adulthood as pirate, seasoned in the trade, and hardened to a life of mobility and insecurity. The Clone Wars (22 BBY-19 BBY) By the time the Clone Wars began, Ixtren was all ready 78 years young. Yet despite his old age, he still had a magnetic charisma that brought out astounding loyalty among his crews. Many of his men had formed careers of their own, but they always maintained ties with their captain. As such, Ixtren managed a large network of pirates and from time to time offered their services as mercenaries. During the Clone Wars, Ixtren's fleet was hired by the Separatists, and he devoted his resources to commerce raiding of Republic vessels. Upon working with the Techno Union and their vast army of droids, Ixtren recognized the value of these mechanical slaves. When the war ended with the Empires victory, Ixtren took a large amount of Separatists droids with him and retreated to the Outer Rim. Back to Pirating (19 BBY-26 ABY) After the Clone Wars, Ixtren went back to pirating and his vast fleet splintered off to their various hunting grounds. He occasionally hired out a small portion of his fleet to various groups for short term contracts. During the Rebellions, he launched a few raids against Imperial convoys, and later, he did the same against the Republic, this time in the employ of Grand Admiral Thrawn. But as the years went on, and the galactic wars subsided, he returned more and more to lackadaisical sojourns of pirate ambushes. Though strained through distance, he still kept in touch with his old lieutenants. His long years of life accorded him with a certain amount of financial security. It seemed life for him was finally beginning to settle down. Yuuzhan Vong War (26 ABY-) When the Yuuzhan Vong invaded the galaxy, Ixtren was caught with a combination of surprise and curiosity. Soon after the formation of the Peace Brigade, Ixtren offered the services of a portion of his fleet. It wasn't long before he was face-to-face with the Vong themselves. His first mention with the extragalactic invaders was anything but typical. Upon learning that the aliens enjoyed self-sacrifice and pain, Ixtren knelt before a Yuuzhan Vong commander and cut off one of his ears in a pledge of service. The sacrifice earned merit with the commander, and he accepting the infidel's allegiance. After that, Ixtren and a handful of his ships operated with the Yuuzhan Vong and the Peace Brigade in some of the early battles of the war including Bilbringi, Hapes, and Kashyyyk. Lost in the Sand On the desert planet of Tatooine Ixtren found himself in pursuit of the Jedi Enak Nvraa. After wandering through the desert after the Jedi the two of them encounted a Krayt Dragon and the Jedi actually fled on the beast. From there he tracked the Jedi back to town only to run into two muggers. He was forced to kill the two men as they were dead set on doing the same. Afterwards he lost track of the Jedi and had to abandon his search. Empire's Legacy Ixtren played "follow the Jedi" on Tatooine as he was still in search of Enak. Getting Goods Of all the luck, Ixtren ran into yet another Jedi, this one surrounded by an attacking mob. He managed to save the Jedi, Nava, and they whisked away on a landspeeder. Soon they picked up another Jedi, Zekk Tyrus. After getting through another skirmish, Nava had a vision and they all headed to Kamino. Cloning Labs Ixtren arrived on the planet with Nava and Zekk amid a chaotic fight between the Sith, the Jedi, and the Vong. He managed to escape through the mess with the Jedi, and tagged along with them as they escaped the planet, heading back to Tatooine. Tatooine at Last On Tatooine, Ixtren took advantage of the Jedi's distractions and managed to plant homing beacons on their ships. While there, all of them were attacked by a marauding band of Sith wannabees. Ixtren heroically fended off some of the attackers and decided that he had enough of the Jedi. They attracted way too much of the wrong kind of attention. He took a shuttle and caught back up with his crew on the Death's Head, his personal frigate. Vong vs Vong While on his ship, on the edges of the Tatooine System, Ixtren received orders from the Vong that he and his Peace Brigade Fleet were to head to the Hapes Consortium and help the Vong take it over. Thinking of all the possible loot, he agreed and set his course. Illegal Counter-Measures In the Battle for Hapes, Ixtren led his Peace Brigade Fleet against the flanks of the Hapan Defense Forces. As his men smashed through the defenders, he turned his attention on a possible high priority target that turned out to be a Jedi, Darth Judicar. When the target escaped into the Republic flagship, he directed all attacks on the vessel, nearly destroying it. Yet the Hapans regrouped and attacked him from behind, forcing him to divert his attention once again. Later in the battle he received a message from the Vong that they captured a Jedi and wanted to give the Jedi to him. Upon retrieving the Jedi, who ended up being Darth Judicar, he made a deal with him so that they might be able to help each other later on. After that, the battle turned against the Vong and they pulled out. Ixtren and his fleet played a holding action and raided half of the Hapan Defense Fleet before they too retreated from the battle. Kashyyyk would be their next destination. Another Crusade of the Peace Brigade During the trip through hyperspace, en route to Kashyyyk, Ixtren met with his strategic adviser, Mercedes Harrington, and formulated a plan for the next battle. He also communicated with the Darth Judicar via a special comlink where they discussed the coming battle. (see Uneasy Alliances) Stars of Hell Ixtren joined the Yuuzhan Vong in the attack on Kashyyyk. He was charged with guarding the Vong's flank and securing the arrival area of the Vong's third fleet. Once the third fleet arrived, he committed his forces to the battle. During the fray he lost contact with his trusted adviser, Mercedes Harrington, whom he later found out was on the Vong worldship. When the Imperials joined the battle, he decided that things were getting to messy, and decided to pull his forces out. He was especially startled by the presence of cloaked ships armed with death rays. When the Vong Commander Serq opened fire on his forces, Ixtren decided to help the New Republic and joined in on a coordinated attack on the worldship. As the battle progressed, he realized his only hope for escaping Kashyyyk unscathed lied with the Imperials. When his own second commander, General Bombosa, turned against him, he knew that things were about as bad as they could get. Yet things didn't turn out so bad. With Bombosa's betrayal, he still held command of half his force, plus he found shelter with the Imperials. With the Vong's departure, he was free to go his own way. Treasure Hunt for the Obscure After the battle of Kashyyyk, Ixtren and his pirates went to Myrkr. It was there that the self proclaimed pirate lord began a search for living weapons he could use against the Vong. He managed to capture several ysalamiri, and a dozen or so vornskrs, plus some other obscure creatures and plants. Yet his most important find was a rare, as yet unidentified, breed of tree leopard that was mingling with the ysalamirir. Regardless of his finds, Ixtren spent an entire month on Myrkr before heading off and back into the war. Fiery Aftermath Ixtren goes to Kuat with his three ships. They run into a Vong raiding force and engage them, chasing off the Vong. Then a Peace Brigade Fleet arrives. As reinforcements arrive, Ixtren gathers together and attacks the Brigade. When the Imperials arrive the Brigade's fate is sealed and they are decimated. However, Ixtren looses command of his ship to Bombosa who sneaks on board. Settling Up Bombosa Binks and his droid bodyguard HK-00 hijacked the Death's Head with Magenta and Mercedes on board. Unfortunately for Bombosa, Ixtren electrified the floor, enabling him to regain control of his ship and detain both Bombosa and his droid. At this point a new visitor arrived, Jedi Koth. Ixtren decided to allow the Jedi to stay on his ship. Then Nara's fleet arrived in the system, changing their course to directly confront Ixtren's lone ex-Peace Brigade ship. The tension mounted. Through the lengthy ordeal, Ixtren was able to strike a deal with Nara. In return for killing Judicar and Vang, who had now boarded his ship, he would be allowed to leave, though now in Nara's service. Using his wits, Ixtren faked it to make it look as if the Force users were dead, then left Nara behind with her delusions. He vowed not to honor his 'alliance' with her, and would instead attack her on site, but this time with the rest of his fleet. A Reorganization of Piratical Means Ixtren went to Coruscant in order to regroup and refit. He meet an old friend and offloaded his Myrkr loot for a large sum of money. While there, he decided to call in his entire fleet, which at this point was scattered across the galaxy working independently in small groups or on their own. He spent his time getting everyone together, and getting things prepared for a unified front against the Vong. Legacy Nearly 600 years after Ixtren's death, the new Mandalore rises to the scene with the same first name. It is unclear whether Mandalore the Sanguine was named after Ixtren Wallonis, or whether the naming was pure coincidence. .]] Personality and Traits Ixtren is an eccentric and wily old general well past his retirement. He has a love for money and a passion for the chaotic, which makes him highly unpredictable. He dislikes the normalcy of everyday life. He also harbors a strange fear for pink bunny rabbits, toothless two headed snakes, massive winged bats, and blue ice cream, possibly due to some terrible event that happened in his childhood. Yet he is a very talented man, intelligent and crafty. In his years of experience, he has developed a fair bit of marksmanship and some skill with a blade. However his real strength is in his resoruces. Through 130 years of life, he has created a vast network of friends and underworld contacts, not to mention the hundreds of old debts he has yet to collect on. This in turn when coupled with his private fleet of ships makes him a very dangerous individual. Though he does have some weakenesses which include his old age which hinders his strength and endurance, the current war raging through the galaxy which has hampered communication with his old friends, and last but not least, the very sanity of his thought. After 130 years of life, it is quite possible that Ixtren is occassionally slipping into bouts of dementia. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Ixtren befriended Nava and Lester Tourville. His relationships with Bombosa Binks, HK-00, Darth Judicar, and Magenta Marr have gone back and forth, but for the most part have been neutral. Mazul Serq and Nara became his enemies. Ixtren's Fleet *''Death's Head'': Dreadnaught-class heavy cruise -- commanded by Captain Ixtren Wallonis :-- Executive Officer (XO) Bido Beldo (blue furred Squib) :-- Security Chief Creptin (Dashade Shadowkiller) -- Tactical Officer - Mercedes Harrington -- Chief Navigation Officer - Lt. Warno (young Correllian, smooth faced, blond hair)-Chief Engineer - Colly *''Drunken Duke'': Invincible-class dreadnaught -- commanded by Captain 'Dutch' Danka, a male human. *''Nimitz Revenge'': Kandosii-type dreadnaught -- commanded by Captain Illuka, a male human. *''Sunduster ''-- commanded by Captain Eexis, a male Ryn. *''Starbanger'' *''Lame Mando '' *''Iron Pinky '' *''Imp Eater '' *''Star Fryer'' Appearances *''Coruscant: Empire's Legacy'' *''Kamino: Cloning Labs: Part II'' *''Tatooine: Lost in the Sand'''' '' *''Tatooine: Getting Goods: Part I'''' '' *''Hyperspace: On Route to Tatooine'''' '' *''Worldship Sunulok: Vong vs. Vong'''' '' *''Tatooine: Tatooine at Last'''' '' *''Hyperspace: Uneasy Alliances'''' '' *''Hyperspace: Another Crusade of the Peace Brigade'''' '' *''Kashyyyk: Stars of Hell'''' '' *''Hyperspace: Hunt for the Obscure'''' '' *''Kuat: Fiery Aftermath'''' '' *''Dathomir: Settling Up'''' '' *''Coruscant: A Reorganization of Practical Means'''' '' *''Coruscant: The Gathering'''' '' *''Tatooine: A Congress of Rogues'' See Also *Approaching Darkness Behind the Scenes Ixtren's legacy has gone beyond the canonical realm of the Darkness Eras and into the highly comical and outlandish region known as the 'What If's.' It is there that Ixtren has earned his name as the Old Hutt Lover and many other notorious nick names. His name has also been used in the Crescendo Era by the Mandalore, though it is unknown whether Ixtren Walonis inspired any canonical inspiration. Plus his pet tree leopard is a direct reference to David Weber's Honorverse and the telepathic tree cats that adopt people. Further more, one of the vessels in Ixtren's fleet is named after a famous tree cat from the Honorverse, Nimitz. Category:Approaching Darkness Category:Characters Category:Pirates